Billposting scaffold



Feb. 1l., 1947. -R J. RUSK BILLPOSTING SCAFFOLD Filed Jan. 4,' 194e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 11,1947

UNITED .STATES PATENT 'OFFICE BILLPOS'IING SCAFFOLD Richard J. Rusk, Allentown, Pa.

Application January 4, 1946, Serial No. 638,988

(Cl. 304-14)v 8 Claims.

This invention relates to scaffolds and more particularly to scaffolds for billposting comprising a pair of hanging brackets or jacks adapted to be hooked over the top of a billboard .to support one or more horizontal stages from which men may work with greater ease and security in applying bills to billboards.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved billposting scaffold.

More particularly it is an object of the invention to provide a billposting scaffold in which the vertical hanging jacks or brackets and the horizontal stages are composed substantially entirely of some light weight metal fabricated to provide strength and rigidity with low weight.

An important feature of the invention comprises the assembly of jack and stage side rails from standard fabricated T-sections of light metal spaced apart by intermediate and' end plates arranged in pairs on opposite sides of the webs of these members whereby a lattice structure of great strength is provided.

Another important feature of the invention consists inthe manner of positioning and fastening rungs or spacers in the several units of the assembly, including bulbing the ends of the tubular rungs into expanded chambers between opposed pairs of spacer plates.

Other and further objects and features of the invention, including many details of construction and assembly which provide for added strength and reduced weight, will be more apparent. to those skilled in the` art upon a consideration of. the accompanying drawings and following speciication, wherein is disclosed a single exemplary embodiment of the invention,A with the: understanding that such changes and modications may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a billposting scaf`` fold constructed in accordance. withv the present invention and shown in position on a sectionl of billboard;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the scaffold showing one of the jacks in face view;

Fig.. 3 is a front elevation on an enlarged sca of the upper or hook end` of one jack;

Fig. 4 is a vertical central section taken on` line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line` 5-5 of Fig. 4;

outer rail of a jack adjacent the position of the top rung;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. Q is a fragmentary vertical section taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 2 and showing the manner of supporting the end of a stage from a jack; and

Fig. 10 is a horizontal section taken on line lll-l0 of Fig. 9.

Outdoor advertising, which involves the use of billposters or specially constructed billboards along roadsides, fences and the like, has heretofore involved considerable manual labor whenever it became necessary to change the advertisingmatter. Usually the billboard has its top edge' spaced approximately fifteen feet above the ground. In the more' modern constructions the Fig.` 6 is. a. front elevation-` of a. section. of. the.r 55

reinforced frame and bracing is covered with a plane surface to receive the billposters and this is surrounded by a wide painted molding forming a frame for they picture or poster. -tion of the board is often ornamented with a painted lattice or the like contributing to the neat appearance of the whole device. Bills or posters are printed on sheets of paper of about the weight of wallpaper and in sufficient number so that a relatively large collection of parts must be assembled to form the completed poster. The parts are pasted in position and must be fairly carefully matched tol insure continuity of' lines, figures and letters. The usual method of handling the mounting and pasting of such poster sheets is by means of a brush having a handle suiiiciently long to reach to the top of the board so that paste can be applied before mounting the paper section. This section is then lifted by adhering its face to the brush and stuck and smoothed into position on the board withi a coat of paste on its outer face. Considerable skill is necessary in .thus handlingI the paper sections to properly position them in: respect to each other and to thev border or frame, and during the operation the frame is often badly smeared with paste, spoiling its neat appearance. The operation is unhandy and time consuming and often the' sheets are not adequately secured so that they pop or blow loose leaving unsightly tatters.

In accordance with the present invention billposting by means of the long handled brushes and the great amount of labor involved, particularly onwindy days, is eliminated by the use of a specially" constructed lightweight metal scaffolding involving. two: ladder-like brackets or jacks' The lower porl adapted to be hooked over the top of the billboard and to hang vertically'therefrom spaced apart a distance sufficient to accommodate a stage of approximately half the length of the usual sized billboard. The jacks are of suiicient height to receive two stages, one above the other, with a space between the two suicient for one man to work on the lower half of the billboard. The upper stage provides work room for a second man, if a two man team is used, so that approximatelyhalf the bill can be posted with one setting of the scaffold.

The scaffolding is suiciently light so the whole assembly can be moved as a unit by two men when it is desired to work on an additional portion of the billboard. One man alone can move the assembly along the billboard without taking down more than the upper stage.

Referring now to the drawings and first to Figures l and 2, it will be seen that a fragment of the billboard is shown at Ill with sections of the top and bottom borders or framesI I. The' scaiold of the present invention, shown in position thereon, includes a pair oi identical -jacks I2, shown as hanging vertically from the top edge of the board and horizontally supporting the two other portions. of the assembly, the stages I4, likewise identical with each other. Each jack as seen in Fig. 2 involves a long vertical inner side rail IB adapted to rest against the billboard and equipped at its upper end with an arcuate, rearwardly projecting hook I8 adapted to reach over and suspend the jack from the top of the billboard. A second and shorter outer rail I8 is spaced from the inner rail I6 by means of a plurality of rungs 28. The top end 22 of the outer rail I8, which extends only a short distance above the top rung, is connected to near the top of the inner rail by means of a multi-ply, diagonal tension strap 24.

The stages, of generally ladder-like construction, while primarily intended to be hung from the tcp and bottom rungs of the two jacks, may

be mounted on any of the rungs 20, which are spaced apart a convenient distance for climbing. These stages are shown in end elevation in Fig. 2 and includeidentical side rails 28 spaced apart by suitable rungs 30, so that the whole is considerably less in width than the space between the rails of the jacks so as to t freely between them. To hold the assembly rigid so as to help prevent kswaying and to insure against slippage, each end of each jack rail is notched from below as shown at 32 in Fig. 9 to hook over an appropriate rung on the cooperating jack.

In general, the rails of both the jacks and the stages are constructed in the same manner. Their basic units comprise a pair of rolled ,T-sections 34, as best seen in Fig. 5, spaced apart and with the webs facing each other. The spacing is maintained by, and the T-sections held together and stiffened by means of thin metal spacer plates 36 always used in pairs on oppositesides of the webs of the T-sections, to which they are secured, as clearly seen in Figs.`5 and 6, by suitable rivets Ml. In general these spacer plates are arranged at each end of each rail, where they are of added lengthy, as seen in Figs. 1, 3, 6 and 9, and wherever a rung is to be attached, as best illustrated in Fig. 1.

The preferred material for constructing the scaiold is hard rolled aluminum and preferably the T-sections are about 1%" to 1%" in each! dimension. The spacerv plates are preferably about three inches wide for the jacks and three the perforations.

4 and one-half inches wide for the stages. 'I'he rung supporting plates may well be square and need be no more than 1%" thick. The end plates are preferably about ten inches in length and of the same thickness as the rung plates. For added reinforcing and resistance to wear and impacts, particularly at the ends of all rails, a ller plate 42 occupies the space between the webs of the T-sections and is of the same thickness. It is suitably secured in position by additional rivets as at 44.

Where the rungs are to be mounted, and these comprise relatively thin walled aluminum tubes having an external diameter of about an inch and a quarter, the spacer plates are perforated to forni a close fit for the rungs, and each is bulged outwardly for an annular area 46 surrounding The rungs are slipped into position while the rails are held properly spaced apart and thenthe rung ends are appropriately secured in position. 'One convenient manner of doing this is as shown where, with a tool similar to that used for positioning boiler tubes in the headers, the rung adjacent its end is circumferentially swelled to be accommodated in the chamber provided by the spacing and the bulging of the mounting plates. This simple arrangement provides a tight, rattleproof t for the rungs and insures sturdy scaffolding parts.

In the jacks the extension of the long rail I 6 above the rungs may be tted with one or more sets of spacer plates 50 for rigidity, although these parts are normally in tension. The laminated strap 24 is clearly seen riveted at 52 to the top spacer plates of the short rail I8. Thelaminations are riveted together at spaced intervals as seen at 54 and the straps pass between the Ts of the'rail I6 and are riveted on the opposite face to the top spacer and ller plates as seen at 56. The hook I8 is likewise riveted to the opposite end of these plates. For added reinforcement against collapse, a rigid rod is mounted just beneath the top rung of each jack and is equipped at each end, as seen in Fig. '7, with nuts 62 engaging both the inner and outer faces of theA spacer and filler plate assembly supporting theare so light that they are readily positioned on the billboard where the assembly operation can be done quite simply by one workman. When in use, the stages are positioned so that all parts of the billboard can be reached with a short handled brush and the sectionsof the poster can be positioned by hand rather than carried on the brush, which is of great advantage, especially in windy weather. Two men can work simultaneously, if

desired, one on each stage.

The scaffolding constructed as above described is innitely superior to wood scaffolds by reason of the considerably lighter weight and greater rigidity.

I claim:

1. A billposting scaffold comprising, in combination, a pair of ladder-like jacks having spaced rungs, means on each jack extending in a plane passing through the axes of the rungs for hanging the same from the top of a billboard at right angles to the plane thereof, a pair of ladder-like stages of less width than that of the jacks, each stage having side rails, each rail having a notch extending vertically up from its bottom edge near each end thereof to engage over one of the rungs of a jack.

2,. A billposting scaffold comprising, in combination, a pair of ladder-like jacks each having a long side rail and a short side rail connected to the lower portion of the long rail by spaced rungs, a diagonal tension strap connecting the tops of the two rails, a hook at the top of the long rail for engaging over a billboard, a pair of ladder-like stages having side rails spaced apart by rungs to a distance less than the space between jack side rails, each `stage side rail being reinforced at the ends and notched to iit over a rung of a jack,

3. In a billposting scaffold, in combination, a ladder-like part forming a portion of the assembly, said partl comprising spaced side rails and connecting rungs, each side rail comprising a pair of spaced, T-section, light metal, structural members having their webs facing, thin metal plates in pairs secured to opposite faces of the webs and connecting the members at their ends and at each rung position.

4. In a billposting scaffold, in combination, a ladder-like part forming a portion of the assembly, said part comprising spaced side rails and connecting rungs, each side rail comprising a pair of spaced, T-section, light metal, structural members having their webs facing, thin metal plates in pairs secured to opposite faces of the webs and connecting the members at their ends and at each rung position, and a ller plate of the same thickness as the webs secured between each pair of thin end plates to reinforce the rail ends against wear and impact.

5. In a billposting scaffold, in combination, a ladder-like part forming a portion of the assembly, said part comprising spaced side rails and connecting rungs, each side rail comprising a pair of spaced, T-section, light metal, structural members having their webs facing, thin metal plates in pairs secured to opposite faces of the webs and connecting the members at their ends and at each rung position, each pair of rung positioned plates being centrally perforated and outwardly -bulged surrounding the perforation, said rungs Ibeing light metal tubes extending through and closely tting the central perforations.

6. In a billposting scaffold, in combination, a ladder-like part forming a portion of the assembly, said part comprising spaced side rails and connecting rungs, each side rail comprising a pair of spaced T-section, light metal, structural members having their webs facing, thin metal plates in pairs secured to opposite faces of the webs and connecting the members at their ends and at each rung position, each pair of rung positioned plates being centrally perforated and outwardly bulged surrounding the perforation, said rungs being light metal tubes extending through and closely fitting the central perforations, and each rung tube being enlarged between the plates of a pair.

'.7. In a jack or bracket for a billposting scaffold, in combination, a long side railadapted to extend substantially the height of a billboard, a short side rail of a length equivalent to the desired spacing of two working stages, a plurality of tubular rungs spacing said rails with the botl 4 toms thereof in alignmenty each rail comprising a pair of spaced, T-section members having facing webs, and reinforcing and spacing plates in pairs secured to opposite faces of the webs, there being a long pair of plates at each end of each rail and intermediate shorter plates spaced to mount said rungs, the end plates carrying between them flller plates of the same thickness as the webs, a strap secured to the outer face of the outer top end plate of the short rail, said strap passing between the Ts of the long rail and being secured to the outer face of the outer top plate thereof, and a billboard engaging hook. secured to the opposite end of said last mentioned plate.

8. A scaffolding element consisting of a ladderlike device having side rails spaced by tubular metal rungs, each side rail comprising two, spaced T-section metal members having their webs facing each other, said members being connected at each rung position by a pair of thin metal plates fitting against opposite Faces of said webs and secured thereto, each plate having a central hole to closely fit the rung exterior, the area around the hole being bulged away from the companion plate, and means on the inserted rung to extend into the space between said bulges and hold the rung against longitudinal movement relative to the rail.

RICHARD J RUSK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 533,998 McKiever Feb. 12, 1895 904,591 Ackley Nov, 24, 1908 1,950,167 Epps 1- Mar. 6, 1934 2,335,046 Droeger Nov. 23, 1943 2,401,251 Kelsey May 28, 1946 D. 142,496 Reiner Oct. 2, 1945 

